{"id":134103,"date":"2026-01-15T02:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T02:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/134103\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T02:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T02:52:08","slug":"in-the-name-of-love-mlk-concert-will-honor-an-east-bay-music-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/134103\/","title":{"rendered":"‘In the Name of Love’ MLK concert will honor an East Bay music legend"},"content":{"rendered":"

America\u2019s long struggle against racial segregation was accompanied by a righteous soundtrack of spirituals and gospel and soul music<\/a>, anthems that channeled sanctified fervor into the fight for equality.<\/p>\n

Emerging from Vallejo in the midst of the civil rights movement, Sly and the Family Stone<\/a> drew on many of the same musical sources in creating an incandescent series of songs. It\u2019s no coincidence that the group\u2019s first No. 1 hit was the 1968 ode to tolerance \u201cEveryday People.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s In the Name of Love concert,<\/a> the East Bay\u2019s largest cultural event honoring Martin Luther King Jr., connects the martyred reverend\u2019s legacy to the treasure trove of music created by Stone, who died last June at the age of 82.<\/p>\n

Produced by Living Jazz<\/a>, the education organization that brings music into dozens of East Bay public schools, the 22nd\u00a0annual MLK tribute concert features a stellar roster of artists at Oakland\u2019s Paramount Theatre Saturday, Jan. 17.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Living Jazz\u2019s third Paramount production, building on 2024\u2019s sold-out Stevie Wonder program and last year\u2019s concert focusing on Aretha Franklin. Returning for his third stint as \u201cIn the Name of Love\u201d music director, Oakland pianist, rapper and producer Kev Choice leads a program that highlights a multi-generational cast of Bay Area artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve been doing different is focusing more on local musicians,\u201d said Lyz Luke, who took over as Living Jazz\u2019s executive director in 2022. \u201cWe\u2019ve upped the production values, but it\u2019s hard to compete with the Paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program reflects Luke\u2019s experience as the driving force behind UnderCover Presents, which produced a series of concerts between 2010-2019 reimagining beloved albums track by track by recruiting musicians representing a global constellation of styles. \u201cIn the Name of Love\u201d centers on African American idioms, but many of the artists are putting their own spin on Family Stone hits.<\/p>\n

With the collective Black London (featuring Choice, saxophonist Howard Wiley and keyboardist Mike Blankenship) and Awes\u00f6me Orchestra serving as house bands, \u201cIn the Name of Love\u201d showcases veteran luminaries such as vocalists Martin Luther McCoy, Silk E, and Ashling \u201cBiscuit\u201d Cole alongside rising singer\/songwriters August Lee Stevens and B. Deveaux.<\/p>\n

Luke and Choice have worked together for a decade, going back to the near legendary 2017 concerts UnderCover Presents A Tribute to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cKev had been music director for some of her tours, so he was the perfect choice,\u201d she said, riffing on his apt family name. \u201cHe wears a lot of different hats as a player, educator and mentor. For Living Jazz, he represents not just directing an amazing night of live music, but education rooted in civil rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Choice came of age in the Oakland scene in the late 1980s, and first encountered Stone\u2019s music as a budding MC \u201cin my search for samples, and tracking down songs that my favorite artists sampled, like De La Soul, 2Pac and KRS-One,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned more as I got deeper into musical studies and came to understand how Sly created a path for Bay Area musicians with the diversity of the band and his messages.\u201d<\/p>\n

August Lee Stevens, who found invaluable mentorship from Choice when she was a student at Oakland School for the Arts, came to Stone\u2019s music via her parents\u2019 record collection. She first encountered the Doris Day hit \u201cQue Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)\u201d as an unlikely cover from Sly and Family Stone\u2019s seminal 1973 album \u201cFresh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a cover done in a style that perfectly encapsulates his energy,\u201d said Stevens, 26, who also plays an opening set for Ethio-jazz vocalist Meklit at the Freight Jan. 24. \u201cI thought that would be interesting and I love singing ballads. I wanted to choose a style leaning toward my wheelhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Name of Love\u201d also features a band from the Oaktown Jazz Workshops as well as a choir featuring 100 grade schoolers from Oakland public schools. In many ways the Paramount event brings the energy from Living Jazz\u2019s flagship summer programs Jazz Camp West and Jam Camp West to the stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do so much more beyond \u2018In the Name of Love,\u2019 though it\u2019s our most forward facing program,\u201d Luke said. \u201cWe\u2019re serving around 500 people through our camp program, and we now serve students in 21 schools in the East Bay,\u201d adding that they are providing classes in Title One schools in Oakland, West Contra Costa, and now Castro Valley. \u201cThat\u2019s nearly 2,000 students with free music and dance education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact Andrew Gilbert at\u00a0jazzscribe@aol.com.<\/p>\n

IN THE NAME OF LOVE<\/p>\n

Concert presented by Living Jazz<\/p>\n

When: 6 p.m. Jan. 17<\/p>\n

Where:\u00a0Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland<\/p>\n

Tickets: $20-$90; www.livingjazz.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"America\u2019s long struggle against racial segregation was accompanied by a righteous soundtrack of spirituals and gospel and soul…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[967,12853,181,971,330,143,145,144,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-134103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-jazz","10":"tag-latest-headlines","11":"tag-lifestyle","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-oakland","14":"tag-oakland-headlines","15":"tag-oakland-news","16":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}